2024年3月16日发(作者：)

2023年高考英语外刊时文精读精练 (1)

Biodiversityconservation conversation

生物多样性保护对话

主题语境：人与自然 主题语境内容：人与环境，人与动植物

【外刊原文】

（斜体单词为超纲词汇，认识即可；下划线单词为课标词汇，需熟

记。）

China’s approval on the “

Kunming declaration(昆明宣言)

” goes beyond its

name. Signed by over 100 countries in October, the

pledge（誓言）

set

the tone for COP15, the largest UN biodiversity gathering in a decade.

The conference, taking place in two parts, is being hosted by China for the first

time. Its second meeting was scheduled for April but also looks likely to be

postponed

（推迟）. The host city is the capital of Yunnan, a south-western province

that is a

showcase

(展示) of the biodiversity that China needs to preserve,

from steamy jungle to mountain glaciers.

As a

forum（论坛）

in which China can demonstrate its green

leadership

certification (资格)

, COP15 has a special appeal. The country

is alert to the importance of global

norms (规范)

on reducing climate change. Even

when in dispute on other matters, America and China have shown cooperation on

limiting

emissions (排放)

. The theme for Kunming is its homegrown idea

of

sustainable(可持续的)

growth: “

ecological civilization（生态文明）”.

The term was written into China’s

constitution (宪法)

in 2018, suggesting

how central it now is in guiding development. The Kunming declaration is filled

with other favourite greening concepts of Beijing, including the “two-mountains

theory”. This states that “green mountains are gold mountains”: that is, the

environment can no longer be sacrificed for development.

For decades, China pursued single-minded economic growth, which allowed

millions to lift themselves out of poverty. But pollution damaged wildlife

and habitats. More than one in five surviving species faces extinction. In the

five decades to 2000 over half of the country’s

mangroves (红树林)

disappeared.

Some 90% of grasslands are at varying stages of

degradation（退化） or

desertification（荒漠化）

, and almost half of wild-animal populations are in

decline, killed by the illegal trade in wildlife.

Yet, despite the damage of

urbanization（城市化）

, China has much left to protect.

It is home to 10% of the world’s plant species, 14% of animal ones and 20% of

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fish. At the second meeting, representatives will set goals

for 2030 to preserve global plant and animal life. In October China's President

launched the Kunming biodiversity Fund, to which China has contributed 1.5bn yuan

($230m). China's President also announced the formal opening of five national

parks, covering 230,000 sq km, home to over a quarter of

China’s

terrestrial(陆生的)

wildlife species.

Still, China’s broader commitment is far from clear. In 2020, in a speech

to the UN General Assembly, China's President unexpectedly committed the

country to

carbon neutrality（碳中和）

by 2060. Then in September he announced

that the country would not finance new coal projects abroad. But for now, China

remains the largest consumer of coal and emitter of carbon eace

called the Kunming declaration “a toothless tiger”.

Keeping citizens happy is becoming a powerful

incentive（动机）

for China.

They are complaining about more than polluted water and poisonous air. The

global debate about the origins of covid-19 has put a focus on the costs of

destroying habitats and trading wildlife. In

February 2020 China’s

legislature(立法机关)

expanded the

scope（范围）

of

its wildlife protection law to ban the consumption of almost all wild animals.

【课标词汇】

1. approval 赞成；同意；称许

•He showed his approval by smiling broadly.他持赞成的态度，这从他开心的微笑就看

得出来。

•Alan is someone who always needs the approval of other people.艾伦这个人做甚么

事都希望得到别人的赞许。

2. Sign 签（名），署（名）；签署，签字

•He signed his name at the end of the letter.他在信的末尾签上了自己的名字。

•She said the painting was by Picasso, but it wasn't signed.她说这幅画是毕卡索创

作的，但画上没有他的签名。

3. schedule为…安排时间；安排，排定

•The meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.会议安排在明天下午。

•The train is scheduled to arrive at 8.45, but it's running twenty minutes late.

火车预定于8：45到达，但今天会误点20分钟。

4. Preserve保护，维护；保存；保养

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